LITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas doctor whose house contained a large stockpile of high-powered weapons was deemed a flight risk by a federal magistrate Tuesday and ordered to remain in custody pending his trial.

Dr. Randeep Mann of London, near Russellville, was quietly escorted out of the courtroom by federal marshals after U.S. Magistrate H. David Young said he was unable to fashion a bond he was confident Mann would follow.

"There's no doubt substantial pressure on (Mann) to flee," Young said of the doctor who's been sanctioned by the state Medical Board, faces a wrongful death lawsuit from a patient's family, and is now being held on charges of illegally possessing military weaponry.

Young also said the sizable stash of $50,000 in cash found during a March 4 search of Mann's house left the judge worried about his ability to escape to India, where the Indian-born doctor still has close family ties though he is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Mann's attorney, Blake Hendrix, said he must talk with Mann to decide if they want to appeal the ruling.

No trial date has been set.

Mann, 50, is charged with possessing unregistered machine guns and grenades that only the military can legally have in the U.S.

After city workers uncovered a canister of 98 highly explosive grenades near Mann's property last week, federal agents searched the home and found 110 fully automatic machine guns worth more than $1 million scattered throughout the rooms and locked in safes.

Special agent David Oliver — with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — described the grenades as solely for military use and of "no social purpose." Except for the military, it is illegal to possess the grenades, which are fired from a grenade launcher mounted on a rifle.

"Dr. Mann is a federal firearms licensee and he should know not to bury (grenades) in the woods near a nuclear facility where anyone could find them," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gordon said in his closing arguments Tuesday. "That in itself is very dangerous."

Mann's house sits near the Arkansas Nuclear One power plant west of Russell-ville.

Hendrix brought in three character witnesses Tuesday to testify to the doctor's social standing, including Mann's wife, Sangeeta Mann. Her testimony countered statements made Monday by Oliver.

The ATF agent had described Mann's father, Kuldip Mann, as an international weapons dealer, and said unusually frequent U.S. border crossings by both men were an indication of possibly illicit activities.

Hendrix dismissed the allegations against Kuldip Mann as unfounded.

Sangeeta Mann described her father-in-law as sickly, and unable to endure extensive travel. She said he suffered from a several ailments, including prostate cancer, Parkinson's disease, asthma, diabetes and a pulmonary disease.

"Every time (Kuldip and his wife) come here, he has to use a wheelchair," Sangeeta said. "He's not even able to walk for long periods of time."

Prosecutors described extensive international travel by Mann and his father as suspicious. Oliver said Kuldip Mann had crossed the U.S. border, coming in or leaving, 325 times since March 2007, including eight times in a truck. Randeep Mann crossed the border 121 times during the same period, Oliver said Monday.

But Sangeeta Mann said her husband rarely left the country, and her in-laws visited once a year for six months. Hendrix said for the number to be accurate, the doctor would have had to leave the country once every six days, which would be difficult for a practicing doctor.

Hendrix described the abundance of munitions and machine guns as a collector's accumulation, and pointed to his client's federal license, which allows him to sell the guns. However, at least four machine guns at his home were not registered in Mann's name, as is required under the National Firearms Act.

Mann was also interviewed by state police on Feb. 4, the day a homemade bomb severely injured a West Memphis doctor who chairs the state Medical Board, which had disciplined Mann in the past. However, U.S. Attorney Jane Duke said Mann was not a target of the investigation into the bombing.

Mann is an internal medicine specialist with a practice at Russellville. He was sanctioned by the state Medical Board on previous occasions, most recently in 2006 after several of his patients died from a lethal mix of drugs or an overdose of prescription medicine. Mann maintained that the issue was not the prescriptions but the patients' abuse of the drugs.

Mann's federal arrest could have agents looking closely at his history with the medical board. In 2006, his prescription writing privileges were revoked after several of his patients died from a lethal mix of drugs or overdosed on prescription medicines. Doctor Pierce was on the board that heard the 2006 case. Though Mann is not considered a suspect in the pierce bombing, federal agents haven't ruled him out.

WASHINGTON: An India-born doctor in US charged with illegally possessing explosives has pleaded not guilty to the charges as his defence lawyer urged the court to dismiss his case.

Randeep Mann (50) was arraigned before a US magistrate on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to one count of felony charge that accuses him of owning 98 high-explosive grenades found in the woods near his home, Arkansas News reported on Wednesday.

Attorney Blake Hendrix also contended in the court that the defedant's right to a speedy trial has been violated as the federal prosecutors had failed to secure an indictment against his client within 30 days of his arrest.

The defence argued that Mann was indicted on April 8, 36 days after his arrest.

If convicted the charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Mann a resident in Pope County Arkansas, was arrested on March 4 after a cache of unregistered, high-explosives grenades was found in the vicinity. Four unregistered firearms were found in his home in London, near Russellville, the paper reported.

Indian American doctor, wife face new charges in weapons casePTI 8 August 2009, 01:44pm ISTPrint Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: | WASHINGTON: An Indian American doctor, who is accused of illegally possessing high-explosive grenades, and his wife face new charges of

interfering with the probe into their extensive weapons cache.

The new seven-count indictment accuses 51-year-old Dr Randeep Mann and his wife, Sangeeta Mann, of seeking to obstruct the probe by hiding from federal agents signed, blank cheques.

It also alleged that 48-year-old Sangeeta concealed evidence and made a false declaration to a federal grand jury about removing the cheques from her husband's office on his orders, the Arkansas News said on Saturday.

According to a statement released by the US attorney's office in Little Rock, agents on Friday arrested Sangeeta, who pleaded not guilty to the charges later in the day at a hearing before US Magistrate J Thomas Ray. Sangeeta, who was arrested from her home near London in Pope County on Friday, remain in custody until a detention hearing Monday in federal court, the report said.

In the indictment unsealed on Friday, federal prosecutors accused Mann with illegally possessing an automatic machine gun without official paperwork on the weapon. Mann also faces two new charges accusing him of owning an unregistered 12-gauge shotgun and the unregistered 7.62-mm machine gun.

This has been the biggest farce and set up from the begining. How amazing that a street worker just happens to find a granade "in the woods" after the dr shows the ATF agents weeks earlier his weapons. And then to say they were unregistered. Is't it funny how they found all the paperwork for the guns in order but did'nt announce that to the world? I've been in law enforcement all my life and folks something about this whole case smells rotten.

I totally agree with on the call of Dr. Mann being set up...Also all the doctors in Russellville and at the Miller Henery Clinics targeted Dr. Mann in a "witch hunt" because they are afraid of writing a script for aspirin. Now that Dr. Mann is gone his patients cannot find a Primary care doctor without being judged for being his patient. I have been turned away by 10 doctors just for being a patient of his. We need to also remember that the Miller Henery Clinic was also the cause of Dr. Valley''s office to close and move to Tennesee. He told me personally that the pressure of being a good doctor was too much in the little "bible thumping witch hunting town of Russellville"...Dr. Valley referred me to Dr. Mann then he closed his office...I pray that the people responsible for all of this have to either suffer or watch someone they love suffer just half the pain I suffer WITHOUT a doctor like Dr. Mann or Dr. Valley...But those good folks are like every other do goody WE are not as good as THEY are...THEY will get the meds and treatments THEY need without anyone but God knowing...These are the same folks that park their cars BEHIND the VFW, THE NORTH FORTY AND THE CASINO so no one knows they are there, get their friend to write their scrips.Then paint their self righteous smiles on and go to church and pray their sins away while letting everyone and anyone who suffers pain suffer that pain...The doctors of Russellville are weak and could care less about the people they care for. AND GOD HELP YOU IF YOU ARE A PATIENT OF DR. MANN or DR. VALLEY, because the good self righteous doctors of Russellville or the surrounding area WILL NOT HELP YOU!won't help you!

Dr. Randeep Mann, the Pope County physician who was charged with federal firearms violations last year, has also been indicted by a Little Rock grand jury in connection with the car bombing of a West Memphis physician 11 months ago.

U.S. Attorney Jane Duke of the Eastern District of Arkansas announced Wednesday afternoon that three new charges had been added to the existing indictment against Mann, 51, and his wife, Sangeeta Mann, 48. The first two, which became counts one and two of the superseding indictment, charge that Randeep Mann "aided and abetted by a person and persons unknown to the Grand Jury" used "a weapon of mass destruction" to destroy a white 2005 Lexus on Feb. 4, 2009.

The Lexus was that of Dr. Trent Pierce, chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board, who was gravely injured and lost an eye when the bomb was detonated in his driveway.

The third new count added to seven existing charges alleges that Mann possessed chloroform - "a prohibited object" - during his confinement at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility. He has been in federal custody since March 4, the day after London city employees discovered a canister of grenades in a wooded area near the Manns' house, and the chloroform was discovered by U.S. Marshals during a search of his cell on Sept. 4.

Randeep Mann had been interviewed by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives on the day of the car bombing. His prescription drug privileges had been suspended by the Medical Board that Pierce chairs, and Duke described the bombing as a retaliatory crime against Pierce for his service on the board.

The indictment does not describe any evidence that prosecutors plan to use to prove Mann's involvement in the bombing. But in a press release, Duke said "diligent efforts" by ATF investigators and analysts "uncovered the evidence needed to charge the individual we believe to have been responsible for perpetrating this violent crime."

"We hope this begins to bring some closure for Dr. Pierce," said Phillip Durham, special agent in charge of the regional ATF office in New Orleans.

The car bombing charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

No new charges against Sangeeta Mann were included in the indictment. She is charged with obstruction of justice and with lying to the grand jury. A trial for the couple is set to start March 15, but Sangeeta Mann has requested a separate trial. She is free on bond while her husband has been held without bond.

The press conference in the U.S. Attorney's office in downtown Little Rock attended by a group of two dozen dominated by law enforcement officials and members of the press. Officials declined to comment on how many others might be charged with aiding Mann. Duke declined to share few additional details beyond the indictment and prepared statement, citing the case as an ongoing investigation.

Sounds like a set up to me as well. Like he's going to bury grenades out in the woods.Our country is becoming increasingly corrupt and set-ups, entrapment, all kinds of abuses are on the rise.The FBI, DHS, NSA etc are comprimised to say the least.I wouldnt be surprised if rival doctors, and various xenophobic Christians did not like him. He probably was cited as a possible terrorist, and then the corrupt govt steps in and frames him.

I was a patient of Dr. Mann's as well. The other patient who wrote in about patients being refused basic medical care is telling the truth. Doctors all over this county have told me to my face that they will not see me because I have seen Dr. Mann. I was accepted as a patient at Millard Henry Clinic until the doctor asked who I had seen. One doctor finally accepted me but when she found out who my former doctor was she immediately became rude and abrupt. I have never been given any narcotics from Dr. Mann nor did he ever offer. I was given antibiotics, Silverdene, and Celebrex only and I saw him for about 6 years. He told me to treat pain with hot baths, cold packs, Alieve, and relaxation. One time I had a heat stroke and was on foot. He had heard from one of his patients that I had sold my car to pay their rent and buy them food. He offered to buy my car back. He and his wife even contacted my mom and asked her where my car was so that they could buy the car back. He told my mom that it was just to hot to walk around in the heat at my age. He said "Sarah, I am a wealthy man and a couple of thousand dollars is nothing to me let me buy your car back." Now you tell me, when was the last time you met a doctor who was willing to do something to help you to that degree?

Investigators searched a Germantown resident's car looking for a compact spare tire similar to the one used in the 2009 bombing attack on Dr. Trent Pierce, a West Memphis physician.

Agent David Oliver with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives testified Tuesday in the U.S. District Court trial in Little Rock of Dr. Randeep Mann, who is accused of masterminding the attack on Feb. 4, 2009, at Pierce's home.

Pierce is expected to testify today. It will be the first time the doctor publicly discusses details of the morning of the explosion. He was severely injured and lost his left eye after the homemade bomb exploded in his driveway.

Prosecutors claim Mann planned the bombing as retaliation as the board investigated whether to revoke his medical license. The board had earlier restricted his right to prescribe narcotics after several of his patients died of overdoses.

Federal agents immediately asked the Arkansas State Medical Board, which Pierce chairs, for the names of doctors who had recently been disciplined. Mann's name was on on the list.

After finding a cache of firearms at Mann's Russellville, Ark., home and grenades near his home, attention began to focus on the doctor.

All but two of the 110 guns, mostly machine guns found at Mann's home, were legally registered to the doctor. Mann also faces federal weapons charges.

In May 2009, agents executed a search warrant at 8720 Somerset in Germantown, the home of Pramudhabhai "Pete" Patel.

The agents wanted to check Patel's 2002 Nissan Altima to see if the compact temporary spare tire was inside.

Agents believe the grenade used in the bomb was attached to a compact spare tire that belonged to a 2002-06 Altima.

Oliver said he discovered after searching financial records and phone calls that Patel and Mann own several hotels together.

Patel also owns several Altimas. All but the one agents focused on had their compact spare tire, a smaller tire and wheel meant to provide temporary mobility for a car after one of the regular tires goes flat.

The white Altima instead had a full-sized spare tire.

Oliver said he asked Patel and his wife what happened to the compact spare tire.

"They told us it was in the garage," Oliver said. "We looked and it wasn't there. We also checked a warehouse and it wasn't there."

Mann's wife, Sangeeta, is charged with obstructing the investigation. She is on trial with her husband.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Prosecutors are working to link Dr. Randeep Mann to a small spare tire used in the bombing of the Arkansas medical board chairman.

A handyman testified today that he went to Memphis, Tenn., with Mann and heard him discuss a spare tire with a business associate they went to see. A federal agent testified that the associate owned a 2002 Nissan Altima. A search revealed the car had a full-sized spare.

Medical Board chairman Dr. Trent Pierce was badly injured in February 2009 when a small spare tire from a 2002 Nissan Altima blew up in his driveway.

Jurors will wait at least one more day before hearing testimony from medical board chairman Doctor Trent Pierce, who survived a bomb blast at his home in 2009.

Doctor Randeep Mann is accused of planning the bombing that severely injured Pierce.

At the federal courthouse Tuesday, there was speculation Doctor Pierce might testify. He did not, and the government is keeping the information on when he will testify close to the vest.

Jurors did however hear testimony from a handyman, saying he went to Memphis with Doctor Mann, and heard him discuss a spare tire with a business associate the two went to see.

Federal agent David Oliver testified the associate owned a 2002 Nissan Altima. A search revealed the car had a full-sized spare tire. Medical Board Chairman Doctor Trent Pierce was badly injured in February 2009 when a small spare tire from a 2002 Nissan Altima blew up in his driveway.

The Government is trying to make the connection linking Doctor Randeep Mann to a small spare tire used in the bombing of Doctor Pierce.

Mann is accused of planning the attack in retaliation against the medical board. The board was investigating whether to revoke Mann's medical license at the time of the bombing.

I don't buy any of this. Have you read about the govt paying a woman $500 to lie and say Dr. Mann had sex with her in exchange for drugs? Folks, this is one huge conspiracy attacking a man of another ethnicity in a conservative town. What happened to Dr. Pierce is tragic, but what the government is doing against this man and his family is also wrong and sad.

I wish both Dr. Pierce's and Dr. Mann's families the best. Who ever did this to Dr. Pierce ought to be punished for this crime, but looking through the lies the government has set up, I do not believe this Dr. Mann has taken that step. I'm sure they wanted him all along.

This is such a travesty of justice. Randeep and Sue are very kind-hearted people that detested conflict. Dr. Mann saved my husband's life when every other doctor in this stupid town send him home saying there was nothing wrong with him. I pray that he gets this conviction thrown out because of the absolute lack of ANY evidence linking this man to any of this. I have six brothers and I know they would not hike very far off the road to "take a leak." I also know that Dr. Mann was not a stupid man. If those grenades were his, he would not have buried them in the property near his home. He also would have had the good sense to bury them a lot deeper than "sticking out of the ground." He knew they suspected him and he had nothing to hide. Evidently, if they don't have enough evidence they will manufacture it. No one is safe in a justice system like this one!

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A doctor sanctioned by the state medical board for over-prescribing painkillers who also collected military-grade weaponry exacted revenge on the board chairman by orchestrating a bombing that nearly killed him, prosecutors said Wednesday during their closing arguments in the doctor's trial.

Attorneys for Dr. Randeep Mann told jurors that the prosecution's case was flimsy and that investigators targeted the wrong person because of his race and love of weapons collecting. The arguments continued into Wednesday evening and the jury was expected to begin its deliberations Thursday morning.

Mann, a family physician and federal firearms dealer, is charged with one count of using a weapon of mass destruction and one count of destroying a vehicle with an explosive in the February 2009 bombing that nearly killed Dr. Trent Pierce. If convicted of the most serious charge he faces, the weapons of mass destruction charge, Mann could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

Prosecutors admit they have no forensic evidence connecting Mann to the bomb scene, nor can they prove that he planted the explosive — made from a hand grenade duct-taped to a spare tire — in Pierce's driveway in West Memphis.

"Trent Pierce told you it's by the grace of God that he's here today," prosecutor Karen Whatley told jurors. "And that is true because Randeep Mann wanted him dead. He should be dead."

Pierce led the panel that sanctioned Mann after complaints that he was over-prescribing pain pills to known drug addicts. The board revoked Mann's right to prescribe narcotics after complaints that 10 of his patients overdosed and died. At the time of the bombing, the board was investigating whether Mann was continuing to prescribe controlled substances, despite the revocation of his Drug Enforcement Agency permit to do so.Pierce, whose face is still marked by flecks of tire embedded in the skin, sat in the front row of the courthouse gallery, the area closest to the jury. He handed his wife his handkerchief as she sobbed as the bombing was described.

Mann "singled out Dr. Pierce. The animosity was directed on Dr. Pierce," Whatley said. "No one else had an arsenal like Randeep Mann with access to weapons."

Whatley said several things linked Mann to the bombing, including an e-mail Mann sent to his brother in India with the subject line "Pierce" and a photograph of the doctor, with the text, "I hope this picture is good." She pointed out that the bomb was made from a spare tire from a 2002 Nissan Altima, and said a friend and business partner of Mann's had an Altima and that the spare was missing when ATF agents executed a search warrant.

She also noted testimony from a friend of Mann's, who told jurors that the doctor repeatedly said that members of the medical board needed to suffer like he suffered.

Mann's attorneys told jurors that the case is circumstantial at best and that there's no solid evidence that proves Mann planned the bombing. Mann also faces charges of illegally possessing 98 grenades, a machine gun and a shotgun, and he and his wife face obstruction of justice charges.

Defense attorney Blake Hendrix sought to discount testimony from Lloyd Hahn, a weapons dealer who testified that he sold Mann a grenade similar to the one used in the Pierce bombing. He said Hahn admitted to several weapons violations and that he'd received immunity from prosecutors for testifying.

"Lloyd Hahn is simply currying favor with the ATF so he doesn't spend the rest of his life in jail," Hendrix said.

Mann emigrated to the United States from India in the 1980s and is now a naturalized citizen. Hendrix said he was unpopular in Pope County because of his race, his million-dollar gun collection and his large car collection.

"They picked the Indian guy with the guns," Hendrix said. "Otherwise, the proof simply lacks in this case ... It simply is the proverbial house of cards that cannot stand."

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas doctor accused of seeking revenge on a state medical board that repeatedly disciplined him was found guilty Monday of masterminding a homemade bomb attack that disfigured and partially blinded the board's chairman.

A federal jury deliberated for a little over two days before convicting Dr. Randeep Mann, 52, of using a weapon of mass destruction and destroying a vehicle with an explosive in the February 2009 attack that nearly killed Dr. Trent Pierce. Mann, a federal firearms dealer, also was convicted of illegally possessing 98 grenades and a machine gun. He was acquitted of illegally possessing a shotgun.

He faces up to life in prison for the weapon of mass destruction charge when he is sentenced on a later date.

Before the verdict was read, Mann smiled at his children and other family members who were watching from the courtroom gallery. He and his wife, Sangeeta "Sue" Mann, who was also on trial, spoke quietly to one another before hearing the jury's decision, as they had throughout the five-week-long trial.

One of Randeep Mann's sons began loudly crying when the first guilty verdict against his father was read. Other family members began crying as the drumbeat of guilty verdicts continued.

As jurors were filing out of the courtroom, Sue Mann collapsed into her chair, but she remained conscious. Her husband gently rubbed the back of her head with his hand.

Mann's family declined to comment after the verdict, as did Pierce's wife, Melissa, and their lawyer, Betsy Murray. Pierce was not in court Monday because he was seeing patients in his West Memphis medical clinic, and his attorney said he would not comment on the verdict.

U.S. District Judge Brian Miller allowed Sue Mann to remain free on bond pending her sentencing. Her husband was ordered to remain behind bars.

Prosecutors acknowledged having no forensic evidence connecting Mann to the bomb scene or proving he planted the explosive — made from a hand grenade duct-taped to a spare tire — in Pierce's driveway in West Memphis.

Defense attorneys argued investigators targeted the wrong person because of the family physician's race and his love of weapons collecting.

Defense attorney Blake Hendrix said he planned to appeal the verdict.

"We have an abiding conviction that the evidence in this case is legally insufficient to support this jury's verdict," Hendrix said.

Still, prosecutors argued, there were links, including an e-mail Mann sent to his brother in India with the subject line "Pierce" and a photograph of the doctor, with the text, "I hope this picture is good." The bomb itself was made from a spare tire from a 2002 Nissan Altima, and prosecutors said a friend and business partner of Randeep Mann's had an Altima from which the spare was missing when federal agents executed a search warrant.

A friend of Randeep Mann's also testified that the doctor repeatedly said members of the Arkansas State Medical Board needed to suffer like he suffered.

"You don't have to have forensic evidence every time you try a case, and I think the jury understood that," assistant U.S. attorney Karen Whatley said.

Pierce, whose face remains speckled with bits of black tire still lodged in his skin from the bombing, led the panel that sanctioned Mann after complaints he was over-prescribing painkillers and other addictive drugs. The board revoked Mann's right to prescribe narcotics after complaints that 10 of his patients overdosed and died.At the time of the bombing, the board was investigating whether Mann was continuing to prescribe controlled substances, despite the revocation of his Drug Enforcement Agency permit to do so.

Mann was convicted on seven of the eight charges he faced. Along with using a weapon of mass destruction, Mann was charged with destroying a vehicle with an explosive because the homemade bomb was placed next to Pierce's Lexus hybrid sport utility vehicle. The blast tore the bumper from the SUV.

Mann was initially arrested after 98 grenades were found buried in a clearing near his rural Pope County home. He was convicted of possessing those grenades, as well as an unregistered machine gun. The doctor had more than 100 firearms in gun safes in his home, but only two were found to be unregistered when federal agents executed a search warrant in March 2009.

Mann was acquitted of possessing an unregistered shotgun after jurors heard testimony that an official with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told Mann he didn't need to register the gun unless he sold it.Mann and his wife also were convicted of obstruction of justice charges. She was acquitted of lying to a grand jury investigating the case.